SMOK Alien Kit Review

SMOK Alien Kit

The SMOK Alien Kit consists of an Alien 220W TC dual-18650 box mod and a TFV8 Baby Beast sub-ohm tank. Since the Baby Beast tank has already been reviewed on Vaping360, this review will focus only on the Alien Mod.

The Alien Kit is designed for intermediate-to-advanced vapers who want a stylish all-in-one hardware setup that provides ample power and superior performance.

Specifications

Notable Remarks

Price

Online prices for the SMOK Alien Mod range from $45–70. Prices for the complete Kit (which includes a TFV8 Baby Beast tank) add an additional $15-25 to the price.

Thoughts

The SMOK Alien box mod is similar in size, shape, and power output to the Sigelei 213 and the P4U iPV 6/6X mods. They differ in cosmetic designs, regulating chips, display screens, and menu navigation, but all three are more alike than dissimilar overall. The relatively compact, oblong cylindrical shape — essentially a box with curved sides and flat top and a hinged battery door on the flat bottom — is currently popular among Chinese mod makers.

The large OLED display above the rhomboid-shaped adjustment buttons is clear and contains a wealth of information — more than on most mods — but the layout, graphic design, and font sizes make the display seem a little cluttered. The Alien uses a long firing bar on one side that is contoured to the shape of the mod case and triggered by pressing the top of the bar. The firing bar accommodates either thumb or trigger firing and has a short throw, but the push is a bit stiff (more than on SMOK’s H-Priv mod), so the pressure required to activate firing is more than for some button-fired mods.

Performance

Performance is up to the standards vapers have come to expect from current-generation, higher-power box mods. Firing is instantaneous in all modes and adjustable for hard, soft, or standard initial ramp-up. Temp control is accurate and works well, with fine-tuning TCR adjustability for all three common TC wire types (nickel, titanium, and stainless steel). Navigation of the menu system is sufficiently straightforward and simple that someone other than a techno-geek can operate it easily (i.e., a normal person). Power output may be slightly overrated, but that’s typical of nearly all mod-makers, and quibbling over a few watts at 200+ is irrelevant for the vast majority of vapers, for whom the limits of the Alien’s power output will never even be approached.

Actual vaping performance is very good. Any long-term issues of reliability or durability will take time to arise and be assessed, but current chip technology and manufacturing standards are considerably higher than a year or two ago, so prospects are improved for a long life of superior performance.

Likes

Good performance (with many options)

Stylish and beautiful (industrial but sleek)

Ergonomic design (comfortable in the hand)

Firing bar (cool feature)

Hinged battery door (easy battery swaps)

Firmware upgradability (USB or OTA via Bluetooth)

Dislikes

Firing bar (requires firm pressure)

Heavy (345g/11.5 oz. with batteries and full tank)

No listing of safety protections

Verdict

The SMOK Alien 220W TC box mod easily passes muster among its current-generation peers. SMOK’s marketing strategy is to produce a wide array of products for every market niche, and the Alien box mod fits into the 200+ watt niche of dual-18650 mods quite nicely.

Recommended for You

My name is Bill. I’ve been a dedicated vaper for five and a half years, having ended a 35-year addiction to tobacco cold-turkey on my first day of vaping. I live on the Oregon coast, in the tiny town of Florence, one huge sand dune away from the Pacific Ocean.

I’ve discovered through reading and confirmed through experience that the early firmware versions of the Alien mod do indeed misfire sporadically (meaning that you press the firing bar and nothing happens; then you have to wait a second and press the bar again — very aggravating). My test unit came with firmware v1.1.3 and misfires frequently.

SMOK has corrected the problem in recent firmware updates that are available on the SMOK web site. Since the updates can be installed only through Windows, however, Mac users (which include me) are out in the cold. Perhaps the percentage of vapers who use Macs is small, but our exclusion does mar an otherwise nice mod.

Glen Travis Hopkinson

Take it to the local library most have computers you can use, might be able to update that way, or find a friend who still uses windows, we are out there. i might have a newer one just bought it , so far loving it, well other than the spitting but that was my fault with juice control.

Ron

Just got mine today and I’m loving it. I’ve been using it all day with a tfv8 (not baby) and the time to ramp up compared to my old minos r150 is amazing. I haven’t updated the firmware yet, but I’ve only had one misfire all day.

It’s a bit heavy, but I wouldn’t consider that a con… it’s like saying a con for a rolls royce is the weight.. it’s just part of the style of the mod. I’d be worried if it was super light.

Having a firm button is a pro, not a con. I don’t want a loose button that feels cheap or can be pressed by accident. It’s not like it takes a body builder to press it…

This could be the best regulated mod on the market, and when you consider the price, it can’t be beat.

Gustavo Felisberto

Couple of questions:
1-Does it charge the batteries via USB or does one need external charger?
2-Saw your comment on updating only from windows. Did you try the OTA update with Bluetooth?

Helmuth

Yes it does charge via USB, But I rather to use an external charger its only $18, so iI can charge a couple of extra batteries I have

Rami

I bought one within 2 weeks the firing button quit out on me.. waste of money. First time purchasing a smok product and probably my last.

Patrick

Where did you get the “bluetooth” thing from, I have this mod and it does not have bluetooth.

Holmezy Holmes

Need help,

Had my Smok Alien less than a month, charged up my genuine efest 3000mah batteries in the mod as normal, then the mod was just lifeless and killed my 2 batteries, now my laptop acknowledges that the mod is connected but still no display or power to the mod whatsoever, dont know whats happened.

Confused

Mike Lyno

I like this mod but as mentioned the power bar/button is stiff with a really short throw. Biggest thing I don’t like is the screen dimming after 10 seconds. Irritates me, I hope they release a firmware to eliminate that dimming.

David Goddard

Been in use for 3 weeks now and the paint has come off in large patches all over the device, had to resort to putting a wrap on it to make it presentable. Very dissapointed in the paint job on it, in case you think that it may be the way in whihc I have treated the device; I am the sort of person that keeps the protective film that comes with a mobile phone on the screen for the first 12 months. All of my other mods of various ages look ‘like new’ yet I can rub the paint off this with my thumb rubbing it. Such a shame I boutght the device because it ‘looked nice’ not that it had any special features.